Nobody can help

[#1]

Felt I should post here to tell all those interested the position I find myself in.
I went live on plus net a few months back, I was with Sky before that.
With Sky I got 4MB connection and never had any problems.
Since I went live with plus net my connection has never been very fast in comparison.
The problem I have is that my target SNR on the DLM system is 15db, which knocked my sync speed from the 4200 it was to around 2400 now. So I go from a 3.5MB IP profile down to a 2MB, if I am lucky.
I raised a fault and went through all the processes required. I have a BT openreach master socket with the adsl faceplate on it, so I am as good as I can be in regard to my connection at home.
On leaving Routerstats on for a few days I can see that I get some sharp SNR spikes at certain times of the day. This is what would have made the connection drop when the target SNR was at a lower level, hence the DLM forced up the target to try and allow for these spikes without causing loss of sync.  This happened until the target was eventually set at 15db, this level appears to let the SNR spike, by maybe about 7 or 8 db, wothout losing sync, so now it the eyes of BT the line is now stable, even though the DLM has forced up the target SNR just for the occasion, maybe once or twice a day, that I get these SNR spikes.
An openreach engineer came out yesterday and it is fair to say that he had very limited knowledge on how the system works. Now I have no complaints about the engineer as he told me he was given a half day course by BT on broadband, and it ended up being only a couple of hours. I spent most of the time explaining to him how the DLM etc works, he thanked me for my help. He could do nothing for me as my connection syncs ok and that is all they have to get working, the speed you get is just the speed you get in the eyes of BT so if it syncs its good.
Now for a couple of months I have been forcing my router SNR down so that I connect at the normal 6db , and can get a 4000  sync no problem, then after a few days the DLM catches up and I get my 3000/3500 profile back. The problem is then if I have to reboot the rotuer then it will connect lower and my IP profile will drop and I have to start the whole process again.
I cannot use the router that plusnet gave me as it sync too low, yet I cannot return it and have the charge removed from my account.
For me now I am stuck.
I have to fudge my router to get the speeds I know I can get due to the system.
I cannot use the supplied router and yet if I want to leave I have to pay for it.
My fault cannot be looked into any further as it is just the way the system works.
Any suggestions?

[#2]

This seem to be very common, I've had ongoing problems since December with 7 engineers visits so far.

Quote from: MikeyM

An openreach engineer came out yesterday and it is fair to say that he had very limited knowledge on how the system works. Now I have no complaints about the engineer as he told me he was given a half day course by BT on broadband, and it ended up being only a couple of hours. I spent most of the time explaining to him how the DLM etc works, he thanked me for my help. He could do nothing for me as my connection syncs ok and that is all they have to get working, the speed you get is just the speed you get in the eyes of BT so if it syncs its good.

[#3]

MikeyM,

Quote

My fault cannot be looked into any further as it is just the way the system works.

This should never really be the case, there is still an open fault with us at the moment. Please bear with us as I will ask a senior member of our faults team to have a look into this for us.
The SNR spikes are a concern here and it would seem sensible to focus on that aspect of the issue next so please bear with us and this will be looked into.

[#4]

Ok thanks Adam.

[#5]

No problem,
I've given a member of our faults team a heads up about your case and a run down of the full history so they will be dealing with this shortly.

[#6]

Just to add some more to the point I was making.
After the engineer left yesterday I decided to force the SNR back down again in the evening.
As you can see from the attached, it has gone along very happy at 6db, with a sync above 4000 for nearly 24 hours.
The BT DLM has given me the 3500 IP profile again, after numerous BT speedtests,  so it proves that it is possible. I just need to wait until the plusnet system catches up.
I am sure a spike or two will come along at some point tonight.

[#7]

This again proves to be a very common issue.  Engineers come, cant find a fault but miraculously line stabalises for a couple of days or so, then issues return. 

[#8]

MikeyM,
Thanks for the info, looking at your ticket today it looks like some engineer intervention is needed. Your ticket is being looked at by a member of our faults team right now and you should have an update ASAP.

[#9]

Ok thanks Adam, I have had a few losses of sync over the weekend but have had long periods of it being stable which I am sure your logs will show.
My plusnet IP profile seems to be stuck at 3000, even thought the BT speedtester has me at 3500?

[#10]

Hi there,
I've changed this to 3500 for you now.

[#11]

Thanks Mand 

[#12]

I recieved a voice mail yesterday and I called right back, I was on another call when I was contacted.
Ths guy I was speaking to was not available and I was told I would receive a call back by someone within half an hour, that was at quarter to five last night.
I have not receieved any call.
The issue I had was that I was told that I had to give some dates for an engineer, which is fine, but I want to know what the engineer is going to be doing and what kind of engineer it is before I take time off work, as the last time was such a waste of time as I new 100 times what he did and spent my time explaining to him ( The BT Engineer) how the ADSL MAX service works with DLM etc.
Hope you can help.
Thanks.

[#13]

Hi MikeyM,
The engineer request is different to last time. We have booked them with TRC banding which basically means that they do not have a strict 2 hour time restriction. Also we have requested a specific set of checks to be carried out called quality gates which need to be done to allow us to escalate a fault within BT Wholesale to their complex faults team.
Complex faults would be best handling this next as they will be able to take an overview of the full history of the case and co-ordinate other engineers as appropriate to implement a solution for the fault.
With regards to someone phoning you there is a note on your ticket that says a voice mail was left at around 4.30PM did you get this?

[#14]

Hi Adam,
I got the voicemail the previous day yes and then I called back and queried the engineer type.
I am happy now that you have explained that it is a different kind of engineer.
Can you book me in for a Saturday morning?
Thanks
Michael.

[#15]

Wow, you're in luck. It's booked for Saturday 5th June, I'm glad to say. There really aren't many Saturday appointments available at all.